MS. VOLUMI’S AUDIO BOOKS

A RETIRED TEACHER GATHERS VOLUNTEERS AND PROVIDES AUDIO BOOKS – NOT JUST FOR THE BLIND.

Ms. Violeta Volumi is a retired teacher, a book lover all her life. When she retired, she started a project: providing free audio books to Albanians. She knew very little about technology, and had very limited resources, but with help from her nephew she created a website and gathered volunteers for reading and recording readings.

I just felt that I have a lot of energy when I retired, and I wanted to do something with it.
Violeta Volumi

Her portal is called Volumi Audio Books, and anyone can listen to books online or download them free of charge. In other European countries it is common, that national associations of the blind maintain free audio libraries with the help of volunteers. This is not the case in Albania.

And it’s not just people without sight, who welcome her initative. The phenomenon of easy-access audiobooks, the ability to listen to books on the go on a pocket player or a smartphone, reached large audiences and increased book sales worldwide. Ms Volumi’s project strives to disperse this phenomenon in Albania.

The initiative started as pilot to help people with disabilities, third age, and people in hospitals. Despite this goal, nowadays the platform is accessed by young people, parents who like to listen to fairy tales with their children, Albanians living abroad and many more. Today the portal has more than 60,000 visitors and 220 individuals are registered as users. The portal features reader’s reviews, and they also released a YouTube channel with audiobooks.